Riley Keough trained to become a doula of death after the death of her brother

Riley Keough finished training to become a death doula after the tragic death of her brother Benjamin in July last year, at the age of 27.

Elvis Presley’s granddaughter, 31, accessed Instagram to inform fans that she has been certified as an end-of-life doula to support terminally ill people before and after their deaths.

Sharing a quote from the poet Rumi, Riley wrote: ‘Today I finished my training in Death Doula, in the training course in The Art of Death Midwifery by @sacredcrossings, so I think I’m almost a certified death doula now hehe

‘And I felt like writing a deep thanks to this community that is teaching and training people in the conscious work of dying and dying.

‘We are taught that it is a morbid subject to talk about. Or we were so afraid that we can’t talk about it … so of course it happens to us, and we are very poorly prepared.

“I think it is just as important to be educated about conscious dying and death as we are educated about conscious birth and childbirth.

‘We have prepared ourselves very rigorously for the entry and we are not prepared for our departure. Therefore, I am very grateful for this community and for being able to contribute with what I can. Thanks Olivia ‘

A deceased doula is someone who offers emotional and physical comfort and support to inpatients in hospices, hospitals and nursing homes.

Sacred Crossings’ certificate in The Art of Obstetrical Death offers classes on what it means to die, how to offer practical, emotional and spiritual support to those who are dying and their families, and how to provide support after a person dies.

In October, it was revealed that Riley’s brother Benjamin had cocaine and alcohol in his system when he shot himself after arguing with his girlfriend.

At the time, sources revealed that he was ‘struggling’ and that his death, while devastating, was not a ‘big surprise’ for his mother or other relatives.

Surveillance footage showed him arguing with his girlfriend, Diana Pinto, in his backyard.

He then went in, locked himself in a bathroom, put a gun in his mouth and shot himself.

Pinto heard the shot, went inside and had to use a hairpin to gain access to the bathroom. She found him dead and called the police.

It is unclear how much alcohol or cocaine he had in his system, but there were traces of both, according to the report released by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office.

The report also described Keough’s history of mental illness.

He had tried to take his life six months earlier, then spent three weeks in rehab four months before he died.

Keough was the son of Lisa Marie and musician Danny Keough, her first of four husbands. The two were together from 1988 to 1994.

Benjamin’s grandmother, Priscilla, 75, married Elvis Presley in 1967, but they divorced six years later. They had only one daughter, Lisa Marie, in 1968. Elvis died just nine years later.

For confidential support in the UK, call Samaritans at 116123 or visit www.samaritans.org for details; In the USA, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (1-800-273-8255)